Adaptive single-phase auto-reclosing method using power line carrier signals

Abstract

This paper proposes a new method for adaptive single-phase auto-reclosing (ASPAR) that improves the rate of successful reclosing actions after the occurrence of a transient single-phase fault and prevents unsuccessful reclosing. After the occurrence of a fault, the only faulty phase is disconnected by the protection system (e.g., distance relays and circuit breakers). The proposed method deploys power line carrier (PLC) signals for determination of the secondary arc extinction time and releasing the reclosing signals to the circuit breakers. Despite the growing use of new communication systems (e.g., fibre-optic links), PLC systems are still widely used, and may not be considered for replacement in near future. Therefore, the proposed method can be utilized as an auxiliary application of PLC systems to enhance the resiliency of power grids. The simulation studies are carried out using EMTP-RV and MATLAB, and the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed method are discussed and compared with the existing ASPAR methods. According to the simulation results, the efficiency of the proposed ASPAR method is negligibly influenced by the following factors: fault location, faulty phase, system loading, transmission line transposition, shunt reactor, PLC carrier frequency, PLC operating mode, and the noises.